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"Straight Edge" Rob Chapman
Rob Chapman is a Canadian Professional wrestler, currently working for the 2WWF brand. He is not signed to an exclusive contract and works both indyand charity shows on the side. Background Rob Chapman, born Robert Matthew Chapman in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Canada, was raised in various places within the Vancouver area of British Columbia. He is one of the only wrestlers who actually lives by his gimmick outside of the ring, that gimmick being a "Straight Edge" (Does not partake in drugs or alcohol.). Rob first took an interest in pro wrestling in grade six, and along with his friend (and future rival) Tyler Chandler formed an amateur wrestling federation called Mustang Wrestling, along with some friends that would hold matches every day on their lunch break. Though he pretty much jobbed to everyone else, he quickly gained experience and his endurance rose. He moved away two years later, back to his home province of Nova Scotia. In early 2001, Rob was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. He stopped wrestling completely until late 2004, near the end of his Grade 11 year. At that point, he found a group of people who were as passionate about wrestling as he was. Although they set out with the intent of forming a company after they finished school, they did not have the finances, nor the legitimate experience to do so. With no experience under his belt, Rob decided to learn under one of the truly legitimate tough guys. Using most of his savings, Rob took a trip to Japan, where he learned under former WWF superstar Steve Blackman at his Shoot Wrestling school After spending 8 months at the school, he could no longer afford to remain in Japan. Rob moved back to Canada and began training at the Can-Am wrestling school, run by Scott D'Amore. It was here that he met and trained with future manager, Matt "MANiC" Hetfield, and Jeremy Fritz, known better by his current TNA moniker,"Showtime" Eric Young. To pay for the classes he worked the night shift as a high school janitor. Eventually, with close to 2 years of training under his belt, he began to look for companies that would take him on. It wasn't long before he was signed to a pro-wrestling contract in the UK, working for the newly established "total XTREME wrestling." total XTREME wrestling: 2005 (Now Defunct) Rob made a hell of an impact in his wrestling debut, when he joined the short lived "total XTREME wrestling" and defeated El Embrujo in what is still regarded as one of his best matches. He was immediately bumped up to the main event and wrestled Rain the following week to a time-limit draw. Unfortunately, the company had put way too much money into their shows and declared bankruptcy after its second week, leaving Rob jobless. Extreme Wrestling Alliance: 2005 (Now Defunct) Impressed by his wrestling debut, another new company, EWA, signed Rob to a 1-year contract. When Rob joined with the company, he was both surprised and amazed to find out that his childhood friend, Tyler Chandler, was also with the company. In his first week, Rob faced WWE superstar Batista in a hardcore match that was surprisingly violent, and pushed the limits of what was allowed on television. As Rob and Tyler talked backstage, a legitimate rivalry began to form between Rob and Tyler who both wanted to prove that they were better than the other. At the company's first pay-per-view (Extreme Backlash), the duo held a bloody and downright scary match up for the EWA Heavyweight Title in a barbed wire massacre match. Rob was victorious in the match after "stiffing" Tyler with his finishing move and almost giving him a legitimate injury. At this point Rob was warned that if happened again he would be fired without a second thought. However, the damage had officially been done. The match was quickly banned from television in the United States for being far too violent. Following the pay-per-view, the company was bombarded by the FCC demanding that they tone their content down or they would lose their television deal. Around the same time, several of the wrestlers went on strike; This is attributed to the fact that the company had planned to sign Chavo Guerrero Jr. away from WWE and were offering him a higher salary than anybody else on the roster. The company officially ceased operation two weeks later. Extreme Wrestling Impact: 2005/2006 (Now Defunct) Rob Chapman joined up with EWI in late 2005, and made a startling debut by defeating Terry Turanza in under 5 minutes by submission. He began training between shows with Axel Anvil to improve on both his hardcore and technical wrestling skills. Two months later, after defeating Axel in a "Barefoot thumbtack match" (Kayfabe), he joined up with Axel and Clark Chandler at the following PPV in a match against the WWA to see who would control the company. The WWA won, and took over the federation. Although his contract was switched over to WWA, he was also working on a side project. Adrenaline Rush Wrestling: 2006 (Now Defunct) Rob Chapman was one of the members that helped form ARW, and although he did not wrestle for the promotion, he provided commentary for all of the matches, and on a special occasion, engaged in a rap battle with Jarad Johnson. Johnson, being the professional, lyrically annihilated Rob in the second round after a first round draw. The company was purchased by Axel Anvil in later 2006, but it died off when several superstars left for bigger companies. ARW tried to sign some new talents, but the crowd became uninterested and their weekly profits decreased until the company ended with a whimper. The company's best match was unarguably between AJ Badd and Axel Anvil for the Heavyweight title in its debut show. World Wrestling Alliance: 2006 Rob Chapman remained one of the few EWI faithfuls, along with LX Tim, but his career went downhill after the switch. He was constantly being booked to lose matches, until eventually, he ended up at his jobber status again. He quit the company, feeling that he was not being treated with any respect from company management. Extreme Wrestling Entertainment: 2006 (Now Defunct) Rob wrestled three matches with this company, attempting to re-ignite a feud with Tyler Thompson (Kayfabe, the duo had reconciled about their EWA performances and Rob had given Tyler a legitimate apology). However, Rob was released from his contract for unknown reasons. The promotion ended about a month later. Two Worlds Wrestling Federation 2006/Early 2007 Rob joined up with the well known Two Worlds Wrestling Federation (2WWF) but his lackluster performances continued. Rob began to feud with Axel Anvil, and was defeated at every attempt, engaging in multiple main-event level matches, including a street fight, and the infamous drunken death match which is still referred to as "One of the funniest matches ever." Not long after this, Rob adapted the Straight Edge philosophy, both in real life and as a gimmick. In Rob's final match with 2WWF in 2007, he wrestled as "Hardkore", a masked gimmick. His only match under the gimmick was against LX Tim, which was regarded as his best match with the company to date. Tim came out with the win, and after the match, Rob removed his mask and shook hands with Tim. Rob wasn't seen in 2WWF again for about a year, but held a pending contract. Extreme Wrestling Impact: 2007 (Now Defunct) Rob Chapman started out in the New EWI with a BIG impact against debuting talent "Mr. Clean". Rob feuded with Clean for two weeks, losing first in a ladder match, and then a second time in a casket match at the company's first PPV, Ultimate Uprising. The next week Rob faced off against Hermanni Lindstrom in a falls count anywhere contest, and picked up an impressive victory against the Finnish superstar. The following week, Rob faced Mr. Clean one final time in a vicious "Iron Circle" match, where Clean defeated him by pinfall. The week after that, Rob said on live air that he was "done with Mr. Clean." He then faced off against the returning Lucifear in an Extreme Rules match and picked up an impressive win against him. At the next PPV, Winter Blitz, Rob Chapman faced off against old friend and Rival, Tyler Chandler yet again. The two spent the entire week bickering back and forth on EWI.com leading up to the PPV. In the end, Rob not only defeated Tyler, but after the match utterly destroyed him. Earlier in the same evening, he'd interrupted in a match between Lucifear and Ricky Neilson, and brutally attacked Lucifear and his girlfriend Lucille. The fans turned their backs on Rob after the assaults, thus turning him heel. Rob's reasons for the assault had to do with personal issues with Tyler, as well as feeling that he wasn't being respected back stage, and that his actions were to send a message. (Kayfabe.) It was this same night, that he and Ricky Neilson formed the Tag Team, Dirty Deeds, which was recognized as one of the best Tag Teams in EWI, although the fans absolutely despised the Canadian Duo. Since defeating Tyler, Rob competed in matches against James Star, Lucifear, Jaken Daust, LX-Tim, Mr. Clean, and Eric Daniels. He won several matches, due to "assistance" from Ricky Neilson, Before leaving, Rob failed to defeat Jaken Daust, but he did defeat the duo of LX-Tim and Axel Anvil in a 1-on-2 handicap "circus tent" match, controversially, after he nailed Axel with his own finishing move. After the match, he was set to face Mr. Clean again, for the Hybrid title on the following Meltdown, but due to backstage altercations with a fellow superstar (Rumors are that it was either Tyler Chandler, or Montel Jones, but details were never released), and was both pulled from the card and suspended. Oddly enough, the company folded the following week and Rob, no longer bound to a contract, immediately headed to Japan, and trained with various wrestlers working for New Japan Pro Wrestling. After about 4 months of re-training and re-learning the high-flying style, Rob began working independent shows with New Japan, Dragon Gate, and CMLL in Mexico. Two Worlds Wrestling Federation 2008 Rob re-debuted for 2WWF in late August 2008 under a new gimmick. Rob went into an immediate feud with James Williams. The feud lasted only 3 weeks, with Rob picking up 2 solid victories. Rob went on to win the Lionheart title and held the belt for nearly 3 months, defeating the likes of LX-Tim, James Knight, Apollas Creed, Mosh, James Star, and more. Rob lost the title the week before 2WWF Hell Games to Shade, and went on to face Minkaro at the following pay-per-view. He lost, although he put up one of the best fights on the card. Following the pay-per-view, Rob participated in a tournament, the winner of which would receive a shot at the world title. He progressed farther than in previous tournaments, though did not win. The final match of the tournament was between Ace Acid and Dave Delicious. Following the match, the main event for the next pay-per-view was made almost immediately; Rob Chapman versus Dave Delicious, for the 2WWF World Title. Rob ended up on a losing streak in the weeks leading up to the pay-per-view, to which he released a statement on the 2WWF website stating that if Dave Delicious beat him in their match at Revelation, he would quit his job as a 2WWF superstar (Kayfabe.) Rob won his match the week before the pay-per-view and entered the match on a high, but was defeated by Dave, sadly, because of a bad landing from his own move. Rob was set to appear on the next Breakdown, but family complications kept him from appearing on t.v. for several weeks. Eventually, he scrapped it completely and took some much needed time off, which actually had to do with the family issue in the first place. On air, he was no longer considered to be with the company, although he was addressed in promos, an act that would not have been legal if he had actually "left" the company. A few months later, Rob made a surprise return, working two separate gimmicks simultaneously. One of the gimmicks saw him returning to a more serious, heel version of his Straight Edge persona, whilst the other saw him wrestling under face paint in an unorthodox attire under the name Esylum. The Esylum gimmick was heavily based on that of "The Joker" from the popular movie, "The Dark Knight." After receiving a warning from Warner Bros. about gimmick infringement, Esylum was used a bit more sparingly. As Esylum, Rob actually made references to the movie through his promos, which were intended to be discrete, but public shots at the WB. Within a month and a half, Rob started wrestling only as himself, appearing only in promos as Esylum. Though 2WWF writers attempted to start a feud between Esylum and Acid, it didn't take off very well and the angle was dropped. Rob's first major match in several months came when he starred in a 6-man Redemption Chamber along with Darc, Roach Cooper, Ace Acid, Samael, and Thomas Barnez, for the World Title. Acid emerged the victor, although Rob put on a good showing during the match. Rob dropped back to mid-card status until the pay-per-view, Blood Stained. Rob made a surprise return as the tag team Dirty Deeds along with Ricky Neilson against the debuting team of Ronnie Wright and Aidan Brave, however the team lost a huge upset to the upstarts. Neither Rob nor Ricky appeared on the following episode of Breakdown at all. The next week, on the May 8th edition of Breakdown Rob faced Ace Acid in the main event of the card, a Two out of Three falls match to be contested under Pure rules. the match was actually considered to be one of Rob's best, and was intended to push him back into the main event. However an accident occurred towards the end of the match; when Rob attempted to finish the match with a Shooting Star Press, the ropes holding up one end of the turnbuckle gave out, affecting his jump and causing him to land on his neck. Rob continued to finish the match, changing the finish so that he hit Acid with his Heathen Chemistry DDT, however the impact of the botched landing has reportedly caused damage to his neck and has a fractured vertebrae in his spine. Rob has been pulled from any future cards for a minimum of a month while the injury heals. He's also stated he'd like to take some time to finish recording with his band, pho.ENIX on their debut album, which has been pushed ahead several months because of his work in 2WWF. An official statement was posted on a credible wrestling website 3 days after the incident. "I had no feeling in the rest of my body after the landing, and I did my best to finish the match as quickly and as cleanly as possible. I just hope they don't do what WCW did to Christopher Daniels and fire me over it, seeing as the broken ring was their fault, not mine." It has also been reported that he will no longer use the Shooting Star Press in his 2WWF matches, because "It's just way too risky, there's been so many guys that have gotten f***ed up by that move, doesn't matter which end of it they're on. Now I know how Brock Lesnar felt. Sometimes you need to think about safety rather than flash. Lives are more important than pleasing the crowd." Other Pursuits Along with wrestling for the 2WWF promotion, Rob is currently the lead singer for the multi-genre band pho.ENIX, along with his former manager Matt "MANiC" Hetfield. The band is currently looking to release their debut album "From The Ashes... We Rise" in late summer 2009. Moveset *Roundhouse Kick *Teardrop Suplex *Triangle Choke *German Suplex *Stiff kicks to the back, and back of knees *DDT Variations *Sidewalk Slam *Running Dropkick *Armbar Variations *Flying Headscissor Variations *Hurricanrana Variations *Short-Arm Spear *Running Senton Backsplash *Wipeout (Throw Back) *Revolving Leg Drop *Reckless Leg Drop (Knee Feint Leg Drop) *Fade-2-Black (Guillotine Choke with Full Body Scissors) *Reckless Leg Drop (Knee Feint Leg Drop) *Hakunetsu (Twist of Fate) *Kip Up Signature Moves *'Fractured Mirror (Diving/Flying Knee Clamp)' *'"Thunderstruck!" Super Kick (Quickly executed Savate Kick)' *'Death Valley Driver' *'Fall of Grace (Tidal Wave)' *'Sharpshooter' *'North Star Press (Shooting Star Press)' *'Head Rush/Delta Dropkick (Twisting Hesitation Dropkick)' *'Whiplash (Hya Kick)' *'Double Helix (Springboard backflip catching the opponent in a reverse chancery followed by a Final Cut.) *'Straight Razor (Spinning Backfist) *'New School (Rope Running Dropkick.)' *'Six Second Magic (Stiff Kick Combination)' *'Mona Lisa Overdrive (Arabian Facebuster)' *'Pele Kick' *'Climhazzard (Dominator DDT)' *'Terminal Velocity (Wave of the Future DDT)' *'Aneurysm (Reverse Inverted Overdrive)' *'Point of Authority (Standing Moonsault Knee Drop)' *'Pain Redefined (Vertical Suplex into a Neckbreaker)' *'Lethal Lesson (Float Over Cutter)' Finishing Moves *'Heathen Chemistry (Lifting Reverse Spike DDT)' *'The Chopping Block (Springboard flip Van-Terminator with the chair set up on the opponent's throat.)' *'Grave Digger (Frog Splash onto an opponent situated on a ladder)' Tribute & Last Resort Moves *'Extreme Hakunetsu:' Twist of Fate from the top rope to the outside. *'The Second Revolution' 720 DDT *'Guillotine Cutter:' Twist of fate executed while on the apron with opponent in the ring so that their throat hits the ropes *'RickRoll'd:' Inverted Green Bay Plunge Discontinued Moves *'Chapman Leg Lock:' With the opponent on the ground, Rob starts by locking in a single leg crab, then applying pressure to the back of the knee via one foot, and finally adding an anklelock. *'450 Hurricanrana:' Top Rope Front Flip Hurricanrana *'Whiskey Wipeout:' A Swinging Full Nelson, but with extra Irishman power. A tribute to old friend and rival Axel Anvil. *'The El Grande:' Rob hits an LX-5 (619) followed by a Frog Splash instead of a springboard hurricanrana. A tribute to both LX-Tim & Eddie Guerrero *'Canuck Stretch:' An inverted Full Nelson. According to an interview, it's a tribute to his dad. *'The Burden ' Reverse Full Nelson into a falling Neckbreaker *'Ride On ' Spinning Sleeper Slam *'Frog Splash' *'Rolling Thunder' *'Van-Terminator' *''' North Star Press (Shooting Star Press; see freak accident)' *'Revolving Leg Drop''' Nicknames *"The Archangel" (2WWF) *"The Risen Phoenix" (2WWF) *"Super Xero" (2WWF; Discontinued) *"The Hybrid" (2WWF; Discontinued) *"Lionheart" (2WWF) *"Straight Edge" (EWI & 2WWF) *"The Rock Hard Rocker" (EWI) *"Straight Edge Soldier" (2WWF) Tag Teams and Stables *"Dirty Deeds" (with Ricky Neilson) (EWI) Theme Music (Hopefully in order) *"Fuel" by Metallica (2WWF) *"Soldiers Of The Wasteland" by Dragonforce (2WWF) *"New Divide" by (2WWF) *"The Metal" by Tenacious D (2WWF) *"Vicarious" by Tool (As Esylum; 2WWF) *"Salvation" by 2 The Ranting Gryphon (2WWF) *"Perfect Insanity" by Disturbed (As Esylum; 2WWF) *"Land Of Confusion" by Genesis (2WWF) *"QWERTY" by Linkin Park (2WWF) *"Maybe I'm A Lion" by The Black Mages (2WWF) *"Sad But True" by Metallica (Used for some 2WWF PPV's) *"Tonight Is Ours" by In-Rage (2WWF) *"Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" by AC/DC (2WWF) *"Cure For The Itch" by Linkin Park (EWI) *"Blow Me Away" by Breaking Benjamin (EWI) *"extreme WORLD order" by himself (EWE) *"My Words Are Weapons" by D12 feat. Eminem (WWA) *"Last Resort" by Papa Roach (Original EWI, ARW) *"Just Don't Give a F*ck" by Eminem (EWA) *"Glass Shatters" (Edit) by Disturbed (tXw) *"Scary Movies" by Eminem & Royce Da 5'9 (tXw) Championship Success *'EWA World Heavyweight Championship' - 2005 (Date Unknown) *'2WWF Lionheart Championship' - August 2008 - November 2008 Category:Wrestlers